Ch. 7- Lakeside Bandits
One Piece © Oda
Blizzard, Aika, Kumi, and Jupiter © Me
Meanwhile, back with Luffy and his group, the five Straw Hats find themselves under attack by the Boss and his army of Centaurs. Luffy and Zoro had managed to deflect the bullets coming from their bazookas so far, but they couldn't really maneuver very well in a small boat.
BABOOM! Another gunshot soon went off.
"They're shooting at us, again!" Luffy shouted. "These guys just don't get it! They're trying to sink!"
"INCOMING!" Blizzard shouted before BLOOOOSH! A resulting bullet hit the surface of the water, causing the Straw Hats to fall out of the Boaty Banana!
"WHOOOAAAAA!" they all screamed.
"Yes!" a Zebra Centaur exclaimed. "We got 'em!"
"Their little boat is capsized!" said a Lion Centaur.
"WOHOHOHO!" the Boss laughed. "See, you fools? You should've aimed for the water's surface from the start!"
"Yeah," said an actual Horse Centaur, "well, we didn't know that some of them had Devil Fruit powers that would deflect our explosives!"
"WOHOHOHO!" the Boss laughed again. "Devil Fruit users are nothing once you dunk them in water!"
"Teeheehee!" a female Deer Centaur laughed.
The "Boss" is revealed to be none other than…Brownbeard. For some reason, his legs have been replaced with the torso of a crocodile.
Just then, SPLASH! The Straw Hats emerged from the water, gasping for breath. Unfortunately for them, they both ended up in the freezing side of the lake. Luffy panted as he clung to Blizzard's neck while Zoro held Robin in his arms. Meanwhile, Usopp was thrashing about, screaming.
"YAAAAAAAH!" he screamed. "IT'S FREEZING! WE'LL ALL BE BLOCKS OF ICE IN MINUTES AT THIS RATE!"
"I wasn't expecting…to be fired on in the middle of the lake," Zoro said.
"We had time to stwike back, Wuffy!" Usopp said, his lips now frozen by the cold water. "Bud noooo! You wadded to be 'fwends'! Guh…ho cold…can't eben move my wips!"
"Sorry," Luffy said, his voice slurred. "I don't wanna be friends with them, anymore."
"Luffy, what's wrong with you?" Blizzard asked. "You don't normally act all loopy like this unless…" Realization soon hit him. "…Unless you're in seawater."
"Take aim, men!" Brownbeard ordered, and his men began to aim their firearms at the Straw Hats.
"Ah, cwap!" Usopp cursed, his lips still frozen.
"Usopp, take Robin for me!" Zoro said as he handed the archaeologist to the sniper. "I'm gonna slice up these bastards!"
"Make it quick, then!" Usopp said, but just when Zoro was about to go in for the attack, he suddenly yelled out in pain!
"Zoro?" Luffy asked. "What's the matter?!"
"Something's bit me!" Zoro answered. "I think it might be a-"
SPLURSH! Before Zoro could finish, whatever it was that got him yanked him down underwater!
"Zoro!" Robin cried, despite her weakened state.
Usopp held his breath and dunked his head underwater before he looked up and saw, to his shock, that a swarm of spotted sharks had just pulled Zoro underwater, and one of them had him in his mouth!
"AAAAAAAAH!" Usopp screamed as he surfaced, thawing his lips out as he did so. "THERE ARE SHARKS IN THE LAKE!"
"Sharks?!" Luffy and Robin repeated in shock.
"WOHOHOHO!" Brownbeard chortled. "You fools! That's pure seawater! The lake you sit in was Ground Zero for Akainu and Aokiji's duel, and in the giant cracks left in the island's crust let the seawater flow in! Of course there are sea creatures in there! WOHOHOHOHO!"
"Zoro! ZORO!" Usopp called. "Dammit, he's shark bait! Man, this sucks! I can't stand sharks!"
Blizzard growled as he eyed the sharks' dorsal fins, circling them in the water.
"Aim carefully!" Brownbeard ordered. "They're sitting ducks in that lake!"
"This isn't fair!" Usopp said. "I never imagined my life would end like this!"
"FIRE!" Brownbeard roared, but just when his men pulled the triggers on their guns, BA-BOOM! The guns backfired in their faces!
"W-what the?!" Brownbeard questioned. "What just happened?!"
"H…hey! Look up there!" Luffy said, pointing forward. "Is that…?"
Usopp gasped and a joyful smiled played upon lips.
"Brook! It's you!" he shouted.
Indeed it was. Brook stood before Brownbeard and his men, his eye sockets shadowed by his hate as he sheathed Soul Solid.
"The winds blowing from the land of the dead freeze colder than any winter storm!" the skeleton exclaimed. "Ah, but I forgot to issue a warning! Now that I've frozen your gun barrels…they will backfire if you attempt to use them!"
"Wh-who the hell are you, Skeleton Mask?!" Brownbeard questioned.
"My name is not important," Brook said. "…It's Brook! I am a skeleton who came back from the land of the dead and pledged his second life to the Straw Hat Captain! They call me…'Soul King'!"
Soon, Brownbeard's men, now brandishing swords.
"When did you pull that little trick off?!" one asked. "You're gonna pay for-"
"Me, pay?" Brook repeated. "Oh, no, my friends. IT IS YOU WHO SHALL PAY!"
SLASH-SLASH-SLASH! Brook slashed his sword at the group of Centaurs, causing them to try and block his strikes with their own.
"I've lost enough crewmates for one lifetime!" Brook shouted.
"AAGH!" one of them screamed. "This guy's fast!"
"What is he?!" asked another.
Just then, Brownbeard noticed that the sharks are now floating in the water, all unconscious.
"What the hell?!" he questioned. "The sharks are all knocked out! What happened to those other guys?!"
"G-g-good t-t-t-t-timing, B-B-B-Brook!" a voice shivered.
"Yohohoho!" Brook chortled. "I just happened to be in there area! I'm glad to see you all well!"
"Y-y-you've really done it now, you bunch of half-man freaks! W-w-we're not soft enough that mere sharks can rip us to pieces!"
"Huh?!" Brownbeard muttered…when he saw Luffy and the others, standing on the riverbank. However…they were all covered in ice from head-to-toe! The only one who didn't seem bothered at all by it was Blizzard!
"The only problem," Zoro began, "is that being tough like this…d-d-doesn't make it easier to deal with subzero temperatures!"
"I-I-I'b f-f-freezink!" Luffy said, his teeth chattering. "I-I-I'b gonna freeze!"
"What'd you expect after coming out here with your regular clothes?!" Blizzard questioned as he shook the ice out of his fur.
Usopp tried to say something, but he was so cold, his words came out as gibberish.
"But look…over there," Robin said. "We're quite lucky, aren't we? We should be grateful we ran across them."
"Boss! There they are!" shouted a Goat Centaur.
"I see them," Brownbeard said, "but wait…I recognize one of them!"
"…I want the 4th guy from the right," Zoro said.
"Then I call dibs on the one next to him," Luffy said.
"Huh? What are they saying?" asked the Doe Centaur.
"Look at all those nice warm clothes!" Luffy, Zoro, and Robin said…with almost demonic looking grins on their faces.
Usopp shivered and mumbled something again. Translation: "G-g-go get one for me, too, please!"
The Centaurs all gasped at this.
"They're after our coats?!" asked a Jaguar Centaur.
"What are they, bandits?!" asked the Doe Centaur.
"Wait a minute!" Brownbeard exclaimed. "I recognize that face, now! He's a rookie from the 'Worst Generation', 2 years ago! Yes…yes! The late Fire Fist Ace's younger brother…the pirate worth 400 million Berries…STRAW HAT LUFFY!"
"WHAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Brownbeard's men questioned. "F-FOUR HUNDRED MILLION?!"
XXX
Meanwhile, at the front entrance of the laboratory, Law is still dealing with Smoker and his men, when suddenly, SLASH! He cut the battleship into pieces!
"AAAAAAAAAAAGH!" a G-5 soldier screamed. "You see that, Smokey?! This is why we didn't want any part of him!"
Smoker and Tashigi only glared at the Warlord, who glanced back at the way Nami and her team had escaped with the children.
"We can't let them get away, either," Law said. "That samurai was with them. Jupiter! Cut them off!"
"That, I can do!" Jupiter said before his wings emerged from his back, and not long after, he flew after the 4 Straw Hats.
XXX
"C'mon, kids! Hurry!" Nami said. "Let's look for a back exit!"
"Hurry up! This way, kids!" Chopper exclaimed. "WACHOOO!"
"Turn around, I say!" the samurai shouted. "Go back! That was the man who cut me down to this size!"
"Wait, really?!" Franky asked. "If that's the case, he might have the rest of your body!"
"Actually, I don't think he does," the samurai noted.
"Then we'll figure it out, later!" Sanji barked. "We can't go back toward the Marines!"
Nami looked down at Aika, who seemed to have stopped shivering.
"Aika?" Nami asked. "Are you okay, sweetie?"
"…I don't see the Marines, anymore," Aika said. "Did we lose them?"
"Y…yeah," Nami assured. "It's okay, honey. We lost them."
Aika then sighed in relief.
"Aika…did the Marines do something to you?" Nami asked. "What happened between you and them that was so bad that it scared you like that?"
The girl gasped as another image appeared in her mind…an image of a woman with waist-length, curly, blackish-blue hair, a dark blue dress, topaz lipstick. The woman was smiling…despite the fact that there was blood trickling down from her left temple and lower lip. What also horrified Aika…was the fact that the woman was crawling on the ground…a bloody trail being left behind by the fleshy stump that was once her right leg.
Upon seeing that image…Aika suddenly let out a sob as she burst into tears.
"Oh, no!" Nami whispered as she tried to comfort her. "Aika, I'm sorry! Forget what I said, okay?!"
"M…Mommy…!" Aika whispered through her tears, causing Nami to gasp.
"Hey! Look out!" Sanji shouted, and not long after, something dropped down in front of them.
"AAAH!" Nami screamed.
"It's Law's dog!" Chopper said.
"I have a name, you little raccoon-dog," Jupiter said. "It's Jupiter!"
"I'M A REINDEER!" Chopper shouted, angrily.
"Law! I've got them trapped! Let 'em have it!" Jupiter shouted.
"Room!"
Suddenly, a familiar thin film appeared in the air around the Straw Hats. Law thrust his sword 4 times…causing their hearts to comically pop out of their chests.
"And now…SHAMBLES!" Law shouted as he held up four fingers, causing the Straw Hats to gasp. However, after that, they seemed to be perfectly fine.
"Well, that was weird," they all said.
"Anyway, hurry up, you miserable brats!" Nami said…in Sanji's voice. "And what happened to my smoke?! …Wait."
"HWACHA! WACHOO!" Sanji shouted…in Chopper's voice. "Follow me kids-COFF-COFF! …Hey, wait a sec!"
"Honestly, Sanji! Will you act your age?!" Franky asked…in Nami's voice.
"OW!" Chopper shouted…in Franky's voice. "I'm feeling SUPER this week! We'll find the exit in no time! …Huh?!"
Even the kids were confused. Why were the pirates who came to save them talking with different voices?
"Uh…Kumi? What's going on?" Aika asked. "Why did they switch voices?!"
"How should I know?!" asked Kumi. "I'm as confused as you are!"
XXX
Back outside, Law is now facing down Smoker and his men.
"Let's retreat and regroup, Vice Admiral!" said one of the soldiers. "This guy's powers are way too creepy!"
"Yeah!" said another. "Lifting our ship, cutting it in half, and throwing the pieces around! We can't fight him like this!"
"Plus, look at that!" shouted one more, pointing at the other half of the battleship, which is now stuck to a cliff! "Half of the ship has fused with the island, now! Like it's some kinda weird-ass sculpture!"
"Dammit!" cursed another soldier. "We can't even get back to the base without our ship!"
Smoker remained quiet.
"The Seven Warlords answer to the Government!" shouted another soldier. "You're breaking your contract by attacking us, Trafalgar! We're gonna snitch on you, pal!"
"Yeah! They're gonna strip you of your title and everything!" another one said.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," Law smirked as he held his sword vertically and then moved it horizontally. "SCAN!"
Just then, something flashed on the G-5 soldiers' bodies, and at first, they panicked, thinking they might've bullets of some sort.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" a soldier questioned. "Cut it out!"
Suddenly, with one swift motion of his hand, something appeared and piled up behind Law, and it is revealed to be a bunch of Mini Transponder Snails.
"Hey! Our Transponder Snails!" shouted a G-5 soldier. "He stole them!"
"Nothing you've seen on this island," Law began, "will be reported to Marine HQ OR the Government."
Suddenly, Smoker jettisoned himself toward Law with his Plume-Plume Fruit powers.
"You're a modification man, thanks to the Op-Op Fruit!" Smoker shouted. "Isn't that right…Trafalgar Law?! WHITE BLOW!"
BOOM! Smoker shot his fist at Law, who dodged his attack…and went after the rest of G-5.
"Stay out of his blade range!" Smoker shouted, but it was too late. SLASH! Law slashed the soldiers, cutting them up into pieces!
"GYAAAAAA! I'VE BEEN CUT IN TWO!"
"Me, too! But I'm still alive!"
"You lot are nothing but dead weight here!" Smoker shouted. "Get out of the circle! Anyone in this dome is a helpless patient on his operating table! In other words, this is his operating room! Inside this space, he reigns supreme and operates at will! That's how he got his alias: the Surgeon of Death!"
Law smirked at this…but then he looked up and saw Tashigi charging at him with her sword, Autumn Rain brandished!
(A/N: I think that's what her sword is called, isn't it?)
"If that's how you want to play, Trafalgar…" Tashigi hissed.
"Tashigi, no!" Smoker shouted. "Your Haki's not strong enough, yet!"
But his warning fell on deaf ears. The moment Tashigi got close…Law quickly sliced her in half, severing her upper body from her waist.
"CAPTAIN~!" the G-5 men screamed in horror.
TO BE CONTINUED…
I gotta say, the body-switching thing was my least favorite part of this arc.
Review, please!